System and method for hand-in disambiguation using user equipment WiFi location in a network environment

ABSTRACT

An example method is provided in one example embodiment and includes receiving a handover request from a first radio network to handover a user equipment (UE) to a second radio network, wherein the handover request includes an international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) for a user associated with the UE and a pseudo cell identifier (ID); determining a target channel configuration for the UE using the pseudo cell ID; querying a third radio network using the user IMSI to determine a location of the UE, wherein at least one access point in the third radio network is in communication with the UE; and selecting a particular target access point in the second radio network for handover of the UE based, at least in part, on the location of the UE, the target channel configuration for the UE and a location of the particular target access point.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This Application is a continuation (and claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §120) of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/066,420, filedOct. 29, 2013, entitled “SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR HAND-IN DISAMBIGUATIONUSING USER EQUIPMENT WIFI LOCATION IN A NETWORK ENVIRONMENT,” InventorsAnton Okmyanskiy, et al., which application claims the benefit ofpriority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser.No. 61/767,903, “3G Hand-In Disambiguation Using UE WiFi Location” filedon Feb. 22, 2013. The disclosures of the prior applications areconsidered part of (and are incorporated in their entirety by referencein) the disclosure of this application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates in general to the field of communications and,more particularly, to a system and method for hand-in disambiguationusing user equipment WiFi location in a network environment.

BACKGROUND

Networking architectures have grown increasingly complex incommunication environments. For example, small cells have gainednotoriety due to their capabilities to connect wireless devices to anetwork. In general terms small cell access points can operate in alicensed spectrum to connect user equipment to the network, often usingbroadband connections. For a mobile operator, small cell access pointscan offer improvements to both coverage and capacity, which isparticularly applicable to indoor networking environments where macrocells typically suffer coverage limitations. Small cell access pointscan also offer an alternative networking architecture to deliver thebenefits of fixed-mobile convergence. However, there are significantchallenges in managing access to small cell access points, particularlyin the context of hand-in operations from macro cells.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

To provide a more complete understanding of the present disclosure andfeatures and advantages thereof, reference is made to the followingdescription, taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures, whereinlike reference numerals represent like parts, in which:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a communication system forperforming hand-in disambiguation activities according to one embodimentof the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram illustrating example details of thecommunication system in accordance with one embodiment of thecommunication system;

FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram illustrating other example detailsof the communication system in accordance with one embodiment of thecommunication system;

FIG. 4 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating example operationsassociated with hand-in disambiguation in accordance with one embodimentof the communication system;

FIG. 5 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating example operationsassociated with selecting a target femtocell access point for hand-in inaccordance with one embodiment of the communication system;

FIG. 6 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating example operationsassociated with filtering potential target femtocell access points basedon access mode; and

FIG. 7 is a simplified flow diagram illustrating example operationsassociated with filtering potential target femtocell access points basedon access mode and user access in accordance with one embodiment of thecommunication system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

Overview

A method is provided in one example embodiment and includes receiving ahandover request from a first radio network to handover a user equipment(UE) to a second radio network, wherein the handover request includes aninternational mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) for a user associatedwith the UE and a pseudo cell identifier (ID) and wherein the secondradio network includes a plurality of target access points; determininga target channel configuration for the UE using the pseudo cell ID;querying a third radio network using the user IMSI to determine alocation of the UE, wherein at least one access point in the third radionetwork is in communication with the UE; and selecting a particulartarget access point in the second radio network for handover of the UEbased, at least in part, on the location of the UE, the target channelconfiguration for the UE and a location of the particular target accesspoint. In example embodiments, the particular target access point in thesecond radio network can be a Home Node B (HNB), a Node B (NB), a HomeeNode B (HeNB) or an eNode B (eNodeB).

In more specific embodiments, the selecting can include comparing alocation for each of the plurality of target access points to thelocation of the UE to determine one or more potential target accesspoints near the location of the UE; comparing a channel configurationfor each of the one or more potential target access points to the targetchannel configuration for the UE to determine one or more potentialtarget access points having a channel configuration that matches thetarget channel configuration for the UE; and selecting the particulartarget access point from the one or more potential target access pointsthat has a location near the location of the UE and that has a channelconfiguration that matches the target channel configuration for the UE.

In other example embodiments, the method may include, prior to receivingthe handover request, registering the user IMSI with the third radionetwork. In example embodiments, the registering may include at leastone of authenticating the UE with the third radio network using anextensible authentication protocol subscriber identity module (EAP-SIM)authentication technique to determine the user IMSI; authenticating theUE with the third radio network using a EAP authentication and keyagreement (EAP-AKA) authentication technique to determine the user IMSI;and storing, in the third radio network, a media access control (MAC)address of the UE associated with the user IMSI.

In other instances, example embodiments of the present disclosure mayinclude maintaining a handover history for each of the one or morepotential target access points, wherein the handover history comprisesthe user IMSI and a handover success factor for each of the one or morepotential target access points that indicates handover success rates forpast handovers to the one or more potential target access points for theUE. In some instances, if more than one potential target access point isnear the location of the UE and has a channel configuration that matchesthe target channel configuration for the UE, the method can includecomparing the handover success factors for each of the one or morepotential target access points to determine a highest handover successfactor for a corresponding potential target access point; and selectingthe particular target access point from the one or more potential targetaccess points that has a location near the location of the UE, that hasa channel configuration that matches the target channel configurationfor the UE and that has the highest handover success factor. In yetanother embodiment, the method can include filtering out from one ormore potential target access points any potential target access pointthat is in a closed access mode. In still another embodiment, the methodcan include filtering out from the one or more potential target accesspoints and potential target access point that is in a closed mode thatthe user is not authorized to access.

Example Embodiments

Turning to FIG. 1, FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of acommunication system 10 for performing hand-in disambiguation activitiesin a network environment in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 1 includes a user equipment (UE) 12, femtocellradio access points 20, 21, 22, a femtocell gateway (FGW) 23, wirelessradio access points 30, 31, 32, a wireless controller (WC) 33, awireless location engine (WLE) 34, an Authentication, Authorization andAccounting (AAA) server 35, an internet 40 and a service providernetwork 50. For purposes of brevity, femtocell radio access points areabbreviated FAPs and wireless radio access points are abbreviated WAPs.FAPs 20, 21, 22, FGW 23, WAPs 30, 31, 32, WC 33, WLE 34 and AAA server35 may each include a respective processor 14 a-14 j and a respectivememory element 16 a-16 j. FGW 23 may further include an RF/geo-location(RF/GL) server 24, a femtocell location engine (FLE) 25 and a femtocelldatabase 26. WLE 34 may further include a wireless database 36. As usedherein in the present disclosure, small cells may be referred to asfemtocells interchangeably.

FAPs 20, 21 and 22 may be connected to FGW 23 via internet 40. FGW 23may further be connected to service provider network 50 in this exampleimplementation. FAPs 20, 21, 22 and FGW 23 may make up a femtocell radionetwork or femtocell system. WAPs 30, 31 and 32 may be connected to WC33, WLE 34 and AAA server 35 via internet 40. WAPs 30, 31, 32, WC 33,WLE 34 and AAA server 35 may make up a wireless or WiFi radio network,also referred to herein as a wireless or WiFi system.

Also shown in FIG. 1 is a macro cell coverage area 51. A macro cellradio access network (RAN) may be connected to the service providernetwork 50, which may provide cellular/mobile coverage for macro cellcoverage area 51. In various instances, the macro cell RAN may includeaccess networks such as GSM EDGE radio access network (GERAN), UMTSterrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), generally referred to as 3G,and/or long term evolution (LTE) access networks such as evolved UTRAN(E-UTRAN), generally referred to as 4G or LTE. UE 12 may be dual-modeequipment configured with wireless (e.g., WiFi) communicationcapabilities as well as cellular/mobile communication capabilities.

Before detailing some of the operational aspects of FIG. 1, it isimportant to understand common characteristics of small cell accesspoints (APs), femtocells, etc. as they generally operate in commercialarchitectures. The following foundation is offered earnestly forteaching purposes only and, therefore should not be construed in any wayto limit the broad teachings of the present disclosure. In manyarchitectures, femotcells can be deployed as autonomous units to improvereception in areas with poor coverage, or within buildings wherecoverage is reduced by the structure itself. UE that are attached to(and in communication with) small cell APs (e.g., FAPs) can have theirdata transmissions routed to the service provider's network (e.g., overthe internet, over any suitable network, etc.). In Open Modedeployments, coverage provided by a small cell AP is generally open toanyone within range; unless configurations operate to limit access tothe network to only those individuals duly authorized for access.

Essentially, FAPs are fully featured base stations that can provideproximate coverage in a business (e.g., enterprise) environment.Typically, femtocells operate at low radio power levels as compared tomacro cell RANs. FAPs can be connected using a standard broadbanddigital subscriber line (DSL), internet or cable service into theservice provider's network. Calls can be made and received, where thesignals are sent (potentially encrypted) from the FAP via the broadbandIP network to one of the operator's main switching centers. FAPs can beprovisioned to readily handle 8, 16, 32, etc. concurrent calls.

In operation, when in range of a FAP (e.g., in an enclosed environmentsuch as a building, etc.), a given UE can automatically detect the FAPthrough various measurement operations to detect signal quality ofneighboring cells. The UE can provide measurement reports includingchannel information for neighboring cells to a serving macro cell RAN.Based on the reports, the macro cell RAN may determine to initiate ahand-in operation by sending a dummy or pseudo cell identifier (ID) andan International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of a given userassociated with the UE to an FGW and for the FGW to try and determinewhich small cell AP to select for the hand-in. Note this is a hand-inoperation from the neighboring cell's perspective and a “hand-out” fromthe serving macro cell RAN perspective. Using the pseudo cell ID, theFGW can determine a target channel configuration for the UE and can tryto determine an appropriate FAP for hand-in of the UE. For 3G networks,the target channel configuration can include an UMTS terrestrial radioaccess (UTRA) absolute radio frequency channel number (UARFCN) andprimary scrambling code (PSC). For 4G networks, the target channelconfiguration can include an evolved UTRA (E-UTRA) absolute radiofrequency channel number (EARFCN) and physical cell identifier (PCI).

However, there are certain problems associated with hand-in operationsfor 3G/LTE networks for macro cell to small cell AP hand-ins. Forexample, equipment manufacturers and vendors of 3G/LTE UE and macro cellequipment chose not to provide optional unique small cell identificationinformation in measurement reports to the serving cell. The serving cell(e.g., macro cell) is then forced to determine the target of handovervia the FGW based purely on UARFCN and PSC for 3G networks and EARFCNand PCI for LTE networks.

With limited number of UARFC and PSC combinations in use (limited byneighbor list size of 32) for 3G networks and a limited number of EARFCNand PCI combinations in use for LTE networks, it becomes increasinglydifficult for an FGW to disambiguate among a large number of small cellAPs in a given macro cell coverage area for Open Mode deployments. Thiswidely known issue makes practical deployments of hand-in for smallcells increasingly difficult and hinders mass 3G/LTE small celladoption. Without support for connected mode hand-in, end usersexperience dropped voice calls and UEs cause unnecessary interferencewhen moving into small cell coverage with active services.

Release 9 of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) standards hasaddressed this issue through a PSC disambiguation technique, whichenables a UE when in connected mode to create transmission gaps todecode the system information from the neighbor and report this back tothe network. This layer 3 cell identity can then be used to uniquelyidentify a target cell for handover. However, equipment manufacturershave yet to deploy R9 capable equipment, which leaves no practical wayto deploy small cells on a large scale in Open Mode deployments whereUEs can be allowed to access many small cell APs with support forconnected mode hand-in from macro to small cell systems. Another typicalattempt to solve this problem is to use a dummy cell ID in the macrocell and have the small cell GW disambiguate it to an appropriate smallcell AP based on IMSI whitelists, but this solution is not a suitablesolution for Open Mode or Hybrid Mode deployments where UEs can beallowed to access on many small cell APs.

In accordance with one embodiment, communication system 10 can overcomethe aforementioned shortcomings (and others) by providing a mechanism todisambiguate a received pseudo cell ID to a target FAP for hand-inbased, at least in part, on a location of the target FAP, on a targetchannel configuration for a given UE and on UE location in relation toone or more WAPs of the wireless system. In example embodimentsdiscussed herein, FLE 25 may be configured to determine a target FAP forhand-in. By utilizing knowledge of UE location from the wireless system,FLE 25 can disambiguate a pseudo target cell ID to a specific targetsmall cell (e.g., a particular target FAP), thus providing for macro tosmall cell hand-in capability. This solution avoids dependency on macroRAN vendors and/or equipment manufacturers to deliver release 9 (R9)defined PSC disambiguation, and more importantly, provides operationwith pre-R9 UE, smartphones, tablets, etc. As used herein, the term‘handover’ is used interchangeably with the term ‘hand-in’ to describedisambiguation activities.

The solution provided by the communication system 10 may allow forhand-in disambiguation for FAPs for 3G and/or LTE access networks. Invarious embodiments for 3G networks, FAPs 20, 21 and 22 may beimplemented as Home Node Bs (HNBs) and/or Node Bs (NBs). For such 3Gnetworks, FGW 23 can be implemented as a HNB-GW. In various embodimentsfor LTE networks, FAPs 20, 21 and 22 can be implemented as Home eNode Bs(HeNBs) and/or eNode Bs (eNodeBs). For such LTE networks, FGW 23 can beimplemented as a HeNB-GW. Although FLE 25, as shown in FIG. 1, can beaugmented within FGW 23, an FLE can also be implemented as a standaloneunit or within network node, gateway and/or other element within aservice provider network where a vendor or equipment manufacturer seeksto augment such femtocell location capabilities in such a manner.

In accordance with the teachings of the present disclosure,communication system 10 may be provisioned with certain configurationand/or registration information, including but not limited to user IMSIinformation, location and channel configuration information for each FAP20, 21, 22 and location information for each WAP 30, 31, 32 to allow forhand-in disambiguation using UE location in relation the wirelesssystem. Aside from provisioning the system with certain configurationinformation, each respective FAP 20, 21, 22 should be located in closeproximity to each respective WAP 30, 31, 32. In some instances, asdiscussed below, a converged femto-wireless radio access point may beimplemented in communication system 10 to combine both small cell andwireless radio access points in a common unit. Although three FAP/WAP‘sets’ are shown in FIG. 1, it is understood that communication system10 may be provisioned with more or less FAPs and WAPs depending onnetwork environment.

Each WAP 30, 31, 32 may be configured with its corresponding physicallocation (e.g., latitude/longitude), which may be provisioned by anoperator or by a global positioning system (GPS) receiver, which may beincluded in each WAP. Each WAP may register its location informationwith the WC 33 and/or the WLE 34 (e.g., in wireless database 36) for thewireless system. Further, each FAP 20, 21, 22 may be configured with itscorresponding physical location (e.g., latitude/longitude), which may beprovisioned by an operator for service provider network 50 through afemtocell management system (e.g., HNB Management System (HMS) for a 3Gimplementation) or by a GPS receiver, which may be included in each FAP.Each FAP 20, 21, 22 may register its location information with RF/GLserver 24. In some instances, the location information for each FAP 20,21, 22 may also be stored in the femtocell database 26.

Note that part of the solution being offered by communication system 10can include registering a user (e.g., subscriber) IMSI for a given UEwith the wireless system and storing a mapping of the user IMSI to acorresponding media access control (MAC) address for the correspondingUE/user combination. The mapping may otherwise be referred to herein asan “IMSI-to-MAC” mapping. In various instances, the IMSI-to-MAC mappingmay be stored in the WC 33 (e.g., in memory element 16 h), in WLE 34(e.g., in wireless database 36) or both. As discussed in further detailbelow, the WLE may determine the location for a given UE based either onthe user IMSI and/or the IMSI-to-MAC mapping.

It should be noted that once an IMSI-to-MAC mapping for a particularuser/UE combination is stored in the wireless system, subsequentdeterminations of UE location from the wireless system (e.g., using WLE34) may not need the UE to be attached to or have an active sessionestablished with a particular WAP. Rather the UE may merely be incommunication with one or more WAPs through one or more wireless beaconsthat may be transmitted by the UE. During operation, the UE may transmitwireless beacons, which may be intercepted by one or more WAPs. Thebeacons may include the MAC address of the UE. The WAPs may, in turn,communicate such information to the WLE 34. Using the beacons, WLE 34can determine both the user IMSI based on the previously registeredIMSI-to-MAC mapping stored in WC 33 and/or wireless database 36 and thelocation of the UE through various UE location measurement techniques.The UE location measurement techniques can include, for example,received signal strength indicator (RSSI) measurements and/or timedifference of arrival (TDOA) measurements for the UE for one or moreWAPs receiving beacons from the UE to triangulate the location of theUE. In some instances, it is possible to resolve UE location to anaccuracy below the typical coverage of a WAP, which can generallyprovide sufficient accuracy to identify a target FAP for hand-in.

In some instances, an IMSI-to-MAC mapping may be provided using anauthentication and authorization procedure to register a particular userin the wireless system. The wireless system, including WAPs 30, 31, 32,WC 33 and WLE 34 may perform authentication and authorization using AAAserver 35 for UE seeking to initiate a session with a particular WAP. Ingeneral terms, if a given UE seeks to initiate a session with a givenWAP, the WAP may transmit, among other things, the user identity, forexample a permanent IMSI, a temporary identity or a pseudonym previouslyallocated to the UE by AAA server 35, and MAC address for the given UEto the given WAP. The given WAP may communicate the information to theWC 33, which may coordinate with AAA server 35 to determine whether theUE may be permitted to consume resources at the given WAP.

Authentication refers to the process where an entity's identity isauthenticated, typically by providing evidence that it holds a specificdigital identity such as an identifier and the correspondingcredentials. The authorization function determines whether a particularentity is authorized to perform a given activity, typically inheritedfrom authentication when logging on to an application or service.Authorization may be determined based on a range of restrictions, forexample time-of-day restrictions, or physical location restrictions, orrestrictions against multiple accesses by the same entity or user.Accounting refers to the tracking of network resource consumption byusers for the purpose of capacity and trend analysis, cost allocation,billing, etc. In addition, it may record events such as authenticationand authorization failures, and include auditing functionality, whichpermits verifying the correctness of procedures carried out based onaccounting data.

The wireless system can use different authentication techniques toinitiate a session for a given UE. In one instance, the wireless systemmay use an extensible authentication protocol subscriber identity module(EAP-SIM) authentication technique to initiate a session for a given UE.In another to determine the wireless system may use an EAPauthentication and key agreement (EAP-AKA) authentication technique toinitiate a session for a given UE. Both authentication techniques mayuse secret key information stored on a SIM card in the UE 12 to performauthentication. The wireless system can use EAP-SIM/AKA forauthentication with AAA server 35, which allows AAA server 35 toauthenticate a user's identity and where that identity was a temporaryidentity, for example, a pseudonym, to associate that with a permanentidentity IMSI. AAA server 35 may overwrite a user-name (e.g., apseudonym identity assigned to a user/UE during authentication) with agiven subscriber's IMSI. WC 33 may be configured with an AAA overrideoption to allow AAA server 35 to overwrite the user-name with the IMSIfor a user. The wireless system may store the user IMSI as well asmapping of the user IMSI and the UE MAC address and consequentialidentification of a wireless (e.g., WiFi) user in a WLE environmentusing the IMSI and/or the IMSI-to-MAC mapping for the user/UEcombination.

In some instances, an operator may provision IMSI-to-MAC mappings foruser/UE combinations for the wireless system to bypass authenticationprocedures in order to gather/store IMSI-to-MAC mappings for thewireless system. For example, in an enterprise setting, a givenenterprise operator may provision IMSI-to-MAC mappings for user/UEcombinations for a particular wireless system for employees,contractors, etc. such that the IMSI-to-MAC mapping may be automaticallyconfigured in the wireless system.

Turning to FAPs 20, 21, 22, aside from configuring location informationfor each FAP and registering this information in the RF/GL server 24and/or the femtocell database 26, FAPs 20, 21, 22 may further beconfigured by an auto configuration server (ACS) provisioned by anoperator according to the TR-096 interface using the TR-196 data model.Each FAP 20, 21, 22 may register its channel frequency information withRF/GL server 24. In some instances for 3G implementations, a given HNBmay register its location with an RF/GL server in an HNB-GW as definedin TS 25.469. The HNB may further register its UARFCN and PSC with theRF/GL server. In other instances for LTE implementations, a given HeNBmay register its location with an RF/GL server in an HeNB-GW. The HeNBmay further register its EARFCN and PCI with the RF/GL server.

In operation, when a given UE 12 is within range of any one or more ofFAPs 20, 21, 22 and is in communication with any one or more WAPs 30,31, 32, the UE 12 can detect FAPs 20, 21, 22 through one or moremeasurement operations and can provide measurement reports to a servingmacro cell controller. Based on the reports, the macro cell controllermay determine to initiate a hand-in to a given FAP by transmitting apseudo cell identifier (ID) and corresponding IMSI of a user associatedwith the UE 12 to FLE 25 so that FLE 25 can disambiguate the pseudo cellID to a specific target FAP nearest to the location of UE 12 for thehand-in. Based on the received pseudo cell ID, FLE 25 may determine atarget channel configuration for the UE 12, wherein the target channelconfiguration may correspond to a channel configuration for one or moreof the FAPs 20, 21, 22. FLE 25 can be provisioned by an operator with aset of channel configurations including a particular pseudo cell ID foreach channel configuration. Upon receiving a pseudo cell ID in ahandover request, FLE 25 can determine the target channel configurationfor UE 12 by performing a look-up using the received pseudo cell ID.

In a 3G implementation where the FAPs may be implemented as HNBs and theFGW may be implemented as an HNB-GW, the pseudo cell ID can be used todetermine a target channel configuration, which may include a UARFCN(e.g., channel frequency number) and PSC. In such a 3G implementation, amacro cell radio network controller (RNC) can be provisioned with one ora small set of pseudo cell IDs that may correspond to HNB UARFCN/PSCs.The macro RNC can initiate a handover request to an FLE (e.g., within anHNB-GW) using the UE (e.g., user) IMSI and the pseudo target cell ID. Ina 4G (LTE) implementation where the FAPs may be implemented as HeNBs andthe FGW may be implemented as an HeNB-GW, the pseudo cell ID can be usedto determine a target channel configuration, which may include an EARFCN(e.g., channel frequency number) and a PCI. In such a 4G (LTE)implementation a macro cell eNodeB can initiate handover via a MobilityManagement Entity (MME) provisioned in service provider network 50,which may communicate the user IMSI and target channel configuration toan FLE.

Turning back to the example implantation shown in FIG. 1, FLE 25 mayquery WLE 34 through internet 40 using a Simple Object AccessProtocol/Hypertext Transfer Protocol (SOAP/HTTP) query to get thelocation of UE 12 based on its association with one or more WAPs 30, 31,32 in the wireless system. The query may include the IMSI for the userassociated with the UE 12. WLE 34 may determine the location of the UE12 based on the location of the UE 12 in relation to one or more WAPs30, 31, 32.

For example, using the user IMSI for UE 12 and recovered IMSIs fromprevious authentications, WLE 34 can determine the location of the UEbased on its WiFi association with one or more WAPs by the UE 12 havinga currently active session with a given WAP or by using the IMSI-to-MACmapping for the UE 12 and determining a location of UE 12 using RSSImeasurements and/or TDOA measurements for one or more WAPs that the UE12 may be in communication with through wireless beacons or by anycombination thereof. WLE 34 may return the location of the UE 12 to theFLE 25. In some instances, the location may include a latitude/longitudelocation of the UE 12. In some instances the location may include an IDof a given WAP that the UE 12 may have a current session establishedwith or that the UE 12 may be located in closest proximity.

FLE 25 may receive the location of the UE 12 and may query RF/GL server24 with the location of the UE 12 and the target channel configurationfor the UE 12. RF/GL server 24 and may return a list of one or morepotential hand-in target FAPs near the location of the UE 12. The listof one or more potential hand-in target FAPs can include, for each ofthe one or more potential target hand-in FAPs, a FAP location and a FAPchannel configuration matching the target channel configuration for theUE 12. By returning the channel configuration for the one or morepotential hand-in target FAPs, FLE 25 can further narrow down the listof one or more potent target FAPs to those having a channelconfiguration matching the target channel configuration for the UE 12.For example, in a 3G implementation, this would allow an FLE to furthernarrow down potential target HNBs by matching UARFCN/PSC of potentialtarget HNBs to those associated with a given pseudo cell ID. In otherinstances, the list may be ranked with a highest ranking potentialtarget FAP being closest to the location of the location of the UE.

FLE 25 can compare locations for each potential target FAP to determinea potential target FAP nearest to the location of the UE and can comparethe channel configurations for each potential target FAP to the targetchannel configuration of UE 12 to determine a matching configuration fora potential target FAP. FLE 25 can select the particular target FAP fromthe potential target FAPs based, at least in part, on the location ofthe particular target FAP being nearest to the location of UE 12 andhaving a channel configuration that matches the target channelconfiguration for the UE 12. Based on the selection of the particulartarget FAP, FGW 23 may task the particular target FAP to continuefurther hand-in operations. For example, in a 3G implementation, basedon the selection, the HNB-GW may communicate a relocation request to aparticular target HNB and further hand-in operations may continue usingvarious Serving Radio Network Subsystem (SRNS) relocation operations.Thus, the solution as provided by communication system to provide forhand-in disambiguation using UE WiFi location may result in a reductionof dropped voice calls when a UE moves into small cell coverage; mayreduce UE interference due to no handover where the UE may continue toincrease transmit power to reach a faraway macro cell; and may provideinteroperability with existing UEs and macro RNCs.

In an embodiment, FLE 25 may keep track of or maintain a handoverhistory for the given UE in relation to handover success rates for pasthand-in operations for particular target FAPs. The success rates may beused by FLE 25 to determine a handover success factor for each of aparticular FAP 20, 21, 22 for past handovers for a given UE 12. In suchembodiments, upon more than one candidate target FAP being near to thelocation of UE 12 and having a matching channel configuration, FLE 25may select a target FAP in the vicinity of UE 12 based additionally on acandidate target FAP having a high handover success factor of pasthandovers for the UE 12 in comparison to handover success factors forother candidate target FAPs. In another embodiment, upon a handoverfailure of UE 12 to a particular target FAP, FLE 25 may compare handoversuccess rates for other potential target FAPs (e.g., excluding the FAPfor which the hand-in failed) in order to select another particulartarget FAP for hand-in of UE 12. The handover success rates and/orsuccess factors may be stored in femtocell database 26.

Some FAPs may be configured in a Closed access mode (as opposed to Openor Hybrid access modes), meaning that users who are not included on anauthorization list (e.g., whitelist, enterprise directory list,directory list, etc.) for a FAP cannot consume resources for the FAP(e.g., cannot attach to the FAP). In an embodiment, FLE 25 may filterout or remove from the list of potential target FAPs any potentialtarget FAP that may be in a Closed access mode. FGW 23 can query FAPs20, 21, 22 to determine access mode information for the FAPs and/or suchinformation may be registered/stored in FGW 23. Filtering potentialtarget FAPs based on being in a Closed access mode may be beneficial incertain instances where a potential target FAP may perform accesscontrol based on an authorization list (e.g., whitelist, enterprisedirectory list, etc.) but FGW 23 may not have access to theauthorization list.

In another embodiment, FLE 25 may filter out or remove from the list ofpotential target FAPs any potential target FAP that may be in a Closedaccess mode and that the user may not be authorized to access. In suchcases, FGW 23 may have access to authorization lists for potentialtarget FAPs that are in a Closed access mode. In some embodiments, FGW23 can be configured with a whitelist for each FAP 20, 21, 22 or FGW 23can perform a look-up from using a RADIUS Access-Request to an AAAserver in service provider network 50 to determine whitelists for FAPs20, 21, 22. In such embodiments, FLE 25 may compare a user IMSI withIMSI whitelist entries for Closed access mode FAPs to determine if theuser is authorized to access a potential target FAP. In otherembodiments, FGW 23 can perform a look-up to an enterprise directory todetermine authorized users for each FAP 20, 21, 22. In such embodiments,FLE 25 may compare a user IMSI with entries in the enterprise directoryfor Closed access mode FAPs to determine if the user is authorized toaccess a potential target FAP. Filtering based on a potential target FAPbeing in Closed access mode and/or user authorization to access apotential target FAP in Closed access mode may further narrow down thelist of potential target FAPs for hand-in of a given user/UE. In certainembodiments, filtered out FAPs may be stored in a list that may beaccessed on subsequent hand-in operations.

In various embodiments, UE 12 can be associated with users, employees,customers, etc. wishing to initiate a communication in communicationsystem 10 via some network. The term ‘user equipment’ is interchangeablewith the terminology ‘endpoint’ and ‘wireless device’, where such termsare inclusive of devices used to initiate a communication, such as acomputer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet, a laptop orelectronic notebook, a cellular telephone, an i-Phone, an i-Pad, aGoogle Droid, an IP phone, or any other device, component, element, orobject capable of initiating voice, audio, video, media, or dataexchanges within communication system 10 using both WiFi andcellular/mobile communications.

UE 12 may also be inclusive of a suitable interface to the human user,such as a microphone, a display, a keyboard, or other terminalequipment. UE 12 may also be any device that seeks to initiate acommunication on behalf of another entity or element, such as a program,a database, or any other component, device, element, or object capableof initiating an exchange within communication system 10. Data, as usedherein in this document, refers to any type of numeric, voice, video, orscript data, or any type of source or object code, or any other suitableinformation in any appropriate format that may be communicated from onepoint to another. UE 12 can be able to communicate wirelessly using amacro cell, femtocell and/or wireless service via one of the FAPs 20,21, 22 and one of WAPs 30, 31, 32. As UE 12 is moved from one locationto another, FAPs 20, 21, 22 can hand off to one another (or to macrocell towers), enabling the user to experience continuous communicationcapabilities.

Each FAP 20, 21, 22 can offer suitable connectivity to a mobile/cellularnetwork using any appropriate protocol or technique such as, forexample, GERAN, UTRAN, E-UTRAN or any other appropriate standard. EachWAP 30, 31, 32 can offer suitable connectivity to a wired network usingWiFi, or, in some embodiments, Bluetooth, WiMAX or any other appropriatestandard. Each WAP 30, 31, 32 may encompass wireless network appliancessuch as a WiFi array, a wireless bridge (e.g., between networks sharinga same Service Set Identifier (SSID) and radio channel), a wirelesslocal area network (LAN). In certain cases, access points can connect toa router (via a wired network) that can relay data between UE and wireddevices of either network.

In one example implementation, FGW 23, WC 33, WLE 34 and AAA server 35are network elements that facilitate or otherwise helps coordinatehand-in disambiguation activities (e.g., for networks such as thoseillustrated in FIG. 1). In another example implementation, a femtocelllocation engine may be implemented in another a network element thatfacilitates or otherwise helps coordinate hand-in disambiguationactivities (e.g., for networks such as those illustrated in FIG. 1). Asused herein in this Specification, the term ‘network element’ is meantto encompass network appliances, servers, routers, switches, gateways,bridges, loadbalancers, firewalls, processors, modules, base stations,or any other suitable device, component, element, or object operable toexchange information in a network environment. Moreover, the networkelements may include any suitable hardware, software, components,modules, interfaces, or objects that facilitate the operations thereof.This may be inclusive of appropriate algorithms and communicationprotocols that allow for the effective exchange of data or information.

In one example implementation, FAPs 20, 21, 22, FGW 23, RF/GL server 24,FLE 25, WAPs 30, 31, 32, WC 33, WLE 34 and/or AAA server 35 includesoftware to achieve the hand-in disambiguation operations and/orfeatures, as outlined herein in this disclosure. In other embodiments,these operations and/or features may be provided external to theseelements, or included in some other network device to achieve thisintended functionality. Alternatively, one or more of these elements caninclude software (or reciprocating software) that can coordinate inorder to achieve the operations and/or features, as outlined herein. Instill other embodiments, one or more of these devices may include anysuitable algorithms, hardware, software, components, modules,interfaces, or objects that facilitate the operations thereof.

Turning to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram illustratingexample details of the communication system 10 in accordance with oneembodiment. FIG. 2 includes FGW 23, a femtocell location module (FLM)27, internet 40 and service provider network 50. Further illustrated inFIG. 2, FGW 23 includes processor 14 d, memory element 16 d and RF/GLserver 24. FLM 27 includes a processor 14 k, a memory element 16 k, FLE25 and femtocell database 26. FGW 23 and FLM 27 may each be connected tointernet 40 and service provider network 50 in this exampleimplementation. Processor 14 k and memory element 16 k may facilitatethe hand-in disambiguation activities as described herein.

In one example embodiment, FGW 23 may communicate a hand-in requestincluding the user IMSI for UE 12 and a pseudo cell ID to FLE 25implemented FLM 27 in order to select a target FAP for hand-in of UE 12.FLE 25 may query WLE 34 using a SOAP/HTTP query using the user IMSI todetermine the UE 12 location based on its association with one or moreWAPs 30, 31, 32 in the wireless system. WLE 34 may determine thelocation of UE 12 using techniques as described above for FIG. 1. FLE 25may receive the UE location from the WLE 34. FLE 25 may also query RF/GLserver 24 in FGW 23 using the location of the UE 12 and the targetchannel configuration for UE 12. RF/GL server 24 may return a list ofone or more potential hand-in target FAPs near the location of the UE12. The list of one or more potential hand-in target FAPs can include,for each of the one or more potential target hand-in FAPs, a FAPlocation and a FAP channel configuration matching the target channelconfiguration for the UE 12. FLE 25 can select from the potential targetFAPs a particular target FAP for hand-in of the UE 12 based, at least inpart, on a location of the particular target FAP being near to thelocation of the UE and having a channel configuration that matches thetarget channel configuration for the UE 12. FLM 27 can communicate theselected target FAP to FGW 23. FGW 23 may task the particular target FAPto continue further hand-in operations for UE 12.

In some instances, FLE 25 can maintain handover success factors for pasthand-in operations, as discussed above, which can be used to furtherdisambiguate multiple potential target FAPs that may be near thelocation of the UE 12 and that have channel configuration matching thetarget channel configuration for the UE 12 or in cases where a hand-inmay fail. In one example for a 3G implementation, femtocell database 26may be implemented as an HNB location database external to an HNB-GW forstoring location and/or channel information of one or more HNBs for usein disambiguation activities.

In another example embodiment, another network element, such as, forexample an MME within service provider network 50 for a 4G (LTE) networkimplementation may communicate a hand-in relocation request to the FLE25 implemented in FLM 27 and FLE 25 may perform hand-in disambiguationactivities as described throughout the present disclosure. Among otherthings, the MME in a 4G (LTE) network provides tracking area listmanagement, idle mode UE tracking, bearer activation and deactivation,serving gateway and packet data network gateway selection for UEs andauthentication services.

Turning to FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a simplified block diagram illustratingother example details of the communication system 10 in accordance withone embodiment. FIG. 3 illustrates a converged femto-wireless accesspoint (AP) 70 including a processor 71, a memory element 72, a femtocellradio access point (FAP) 73 and a wireless radio access point (WAP) 74.Femto-wireless AP 70 may be connected to FGW 23, WC 33 and WLE 34through internet 40. In some embodiments, a corresponding femto-wirelessAP may be implemented in place of each corresponding FAP/WAP set asshown in FIG. 1. Processor 71 and memory element 72 may facilitateoperations described herein.

For implementations of communication system 10 including femto-wirelessAP 70, FAP 73 may register its location and channel configurationinformation with FGW 23 and WAP 74 may register its location as well asa WAP ID corresponding to WAP 74 with WC 33 and/or WLE 34. RF/GL server24 and/or FLE 25 may store the WAP ID and associated FAP information foruse in determining a target FAP for hand-in. In operation, when WLE 34may be queried for the UE location based on its association to one ormore WAPs in the wireless system, WLE 34 may include its correspondingWAP ID for the UE location. In some instances, WLE 34 can include bothits corresponding WAP ID and the UE location in a latitude/longitudelocation. In other instances, WLE 34 can include either itscorresponding WAP ID or a location of UE in latitude/longitude. Based ona given WAP ID received from WLE 34, FLE 25 may select a target FAP forhand-in based on the previously stored FAP/WAP association.

Turning to FIG. 4, FIG. 4 is a simplified flow diagram 400 illustratingexample operations associated with hand-in disambiguation in one exampleoperation of communication system 10. In one particular embodiment,these operations may involve RF/GL server 24, FLE 25, FGW 23 and WLE 34.For the example operations, it is assumed that at least locationinformation and channel configuration information for each FAP 20, 21,22 has been registered in RF/GL server 24 and that at least locationinformation for each WAP 30, 31, 32 has been registered in wirelessdatabase 36. In some cases, if femto-wireless APs are implemented in thecommunication system 10, a WAP ID for each WAP 30, 31, 32 may be storedin the wireless database 36. It is further assumed that WC and/or WLE 34includes either an operator configured IMSI-to-MAC mapping for theuser/UE combination for a given UE 12 and/or an IMSI-to-MAC mapping forthe user/UE combination based on an EAP-SIM/AKA authorization for aprevious or active session for the given UE 12.

Based on measurement reports received from UE 12 a macro cell controller(e.g., RNC or eNodeB) may determine to initiate a hand-in for UE 12 bytransmitting a pseudo cell ID and corresponding IMSI of a userassociated with the UE 12 to FLE 25 so that the FLE can disambiguate thepseudo cell ID to a specific target FAP closest to the location of theUE 12 for the hand-in. Thus, processing may start when the user IMSI andpseudo cell ID may be received by FLE 25 at 410. Based on the receivedpseudo cell ID, FLE 25 may determine a target channel configuration forthe UE 12 at 410. The target channel configuration may correspond to achannel configuration for one or more of FAPs 20, 21, 22.

At 420, FLE 25 may query WLE 34 using the user IMSI to determine thelocation of UE 12 based on its association with one or more WAPs 30, 31,32 in the wireless system. At 430, WLE 34 may determine the location ofthe UE 12 based on the location of the UE 12 in relation to one or moreWAPs 30, 31, 32. As noted, using the user IMSI for the UE and recoveredIMSIs from previous authentications, WLE 34 can determine the UElocation by UE 12 having a currently active session with a given WAP orby using the IMSI-to-MAC mapping for UE 12 and determining a location ofUE 12 using RSSI measurements and/or TDOA measurements for one or moreWAPs that the UE 12 may be in communication with through wirelessbeacons or by any combination thereof. FLE 25 may receive the locationof the UE from WLE 34. In some instances, the location may include alatitude/longitude of the UE 12. In some instances the location mayinclude an ID of a given WAP that the UE 12 may have an active sessionwith or that may be nearest to UE 12.

At 440, FLE 25 may query RF/GL server 24 with the location of the UE 12and the target channel configuration for the UE 12. The RF/GL server 24and may return a list of one or more potential target FAPs near thelocation of the UE 12. The list of one or more potential target FAPs caninclude, for each of the one or more potential target hand-in FAPs, aFAP location and a FAP channel configuration matching the target channelconfiguration for the UE 12.

At 450, FLE 25 can compare locations for each potential target FAP todetermine a potential target FAP nearest to the location of the UE. At460, FLE 25 can compare the channel configurations for each potentialtarget FAP to the target channel configuration of UE 12 to determine amatching configuration for a potential target FAP. At 470, FLE 25 canselect from the potential target FAPs a particular target FAP forhand-in of the UE 12 based on a location of the particular target FAPbeing nearest to the location of the UE and having a channelconfiguration that matches the target channel configuration for the UE12. Based on the selection of the particular target FAP, FGW 23 may taskthe particular target FAP at 480 to continue further hand-in operations.

In an embodiment, as shown at 464, FLE 25 may filter out or remove anyof the one or more potential target FAPs from the list of potentialtarget FAPs that is in a Closed access mode. In another embodiment, asshown at 466, FLE 25 may filter out or remove any of the one or morepotential target FAPs from the list of potential target FAPs that is ina Closed access mode and that the user is not be authorized to access.In such embodiments, the filtering may not occur for potential targetFAPs that may be in an Open or Hybrid access mode.

Turning to FIG. 5, FIG. 5 is a simplified flow diagram 500 illustratingother example operations associated with selecting a particular targetFAP for hand-in of the UE in one example operation of communicationsystem 10. In one particular embodiment, the following operations mayinvolve FLE 25 and FGW 23. Alternatively, these operations may includeone of FAPs 20, 21, 22 (e.g., for a hand-in failure to a particulartarget FAP). Recall, in some embodiments that FLE 25 may maintain ahandover history for a given UE 12 in relation to handover success ratesfor past hand-in operations for particular target FAPs. The successrates may be used by FLE 25 to determine a handover success factor foreach of a particular FAP for past handovers for a given UE 12. It isassumed for the operations described below that FLE 25 has and/or hasaccess to the location of the UE, the target channel configuration forthe UE, locations of potential target FAPs and channel configurationsfor potential target FAPs, all of which can be determined using steps410-440 described for FIG. 4.

At 510, FLE 25 can compare locations for each potential target FAP todetermine a potential target FAP nearest to the location of the UE. At520, FLE 25 can compare the channel configurations for each potentialtarget FAP to the target channel configuration of UE 12 to determine amatching configuration for a potential target FAP. FLE 25 may determineat 530 if more than one potential target FAP is near the location of theUE and has a channel configuration matching the target channelconfiguration for the UE. If so, FLE 25 may compare handover successfactors for each of the potential target FAPs at 540 to determine aparticular target FAP having the highest handover success factor incomparison to the other potential target FAPs. FLE 25 may select theparticular target FAP having the highest success factor for hand-in ofthe UE at 542. Based on the selection of the particular target FAP, FGW23 may task the particular target FAP at 560 to continue further hand-inoperations.

Otherwise, if there is not more than one potential target FAP near thelocation of the UE and that has a channel configuration matching thetarget channel configuration for the UE, at 550, FLE 25 can select fromthe potential target FAPs a particular target FAP for hand-in of the UE12 based on a location of the particular target FAP being nearest to thelocation of the UE and having a channel configuration that matches thetarget channel configuration for the UE 12. FGW 23 may task theparticular target FAP at 560 to continue further hand-in operations.

In one embodiment, the handover operations may be monitored by FGW 23 toensure that the hand-in is successful at 570. If the hand-in is notsuccessful, FLE 25 may again compare handover success factors for eachof the potential target FAPs in the vicinity of UE 12 at 540 todetermine another particular target FAP having the highest handoversuccess factor in comparison to the other potential target FAPs. Thecomparison may exclude the FAP for which the hand-in failed. FLE 25 mayselect a particular target FAP having the highest handover successfactor in the vicinity of UE 12 for hand-in at 542. Based on theselection of the particular target FAP, FGW 23 may task the particulartarget FAP at 560 to continue further hand-in operations.

In an embodiment, as shown at 524, FLE 25 may filter out or remove anyof the one or more potential target FAPs from the list of potentialtarget FAPs that is in a Closed access mode. In another embodiment, asshown at 526, FLE 25 may filter out or remove any of the one or morepotential target FAPs from the list of potential target FAPs that is ina Closed access mode and that the user is not be authorized to access.In such embodiments, the filtering may not occur for potential targetFAPs that may be in an Open or Hybrid access mode.

Turning to FIG. 6, FIG. 6 is a simplified flow diagram illustratingexample operations 600 associated with filtering potential target FAPsbased on FAP access mode in one example operation of communicationsystem 10. The operations as shown in FIG. 6 may be performed for eachof one or more potential target FAPs. At 610, FLE 25 may determine anaccess mode for a potential target FAP. If the potential target FAP isin a Closed access mode, FLE 25 may remove the potential target FAP froma list of potential target FAPs at 620. If the potential target FAP isnot in a Closed mode, the operations may continue (e.g., continue toselecting a particular target FAP as shown at 470 of FIG. 4).

Turning to FIG. 7, FIG. 7 is a simplified flow diagram illustratingexample operations 700 associated with filtering potential target FAPsbased on FAP access mode and user authorization to access potentialtarget FAPs in one example operation of communication system 10. It isassumed for the operations 700 shown in FIG. 7 that FGW 23 has beenconfigured with or otherwise determined IMSI authorization lists (e.g.,whitelists, directory lists, etc.) for FAPs 20, 21 and 22. Theoperations 700 as shown in FIG. 7 may be performed for each of one ormore potential target FAPs. At 710, FLE 25 may determine an access modefor a potential target FAP. If the potential target FAP is in a Closedaccess mode, FLE 25 may compare IMSI entries of an authorization listfor the potential target FAP with the user's IMSI at 720. If thepotential target FAP is not in a Closed mode, the operations maycontinue (e.g., continue to selecting a particular target FAP as shownat 470 of FIG. 4).

The authorization list can be an IMSI whitelist, an enterprise directorylist including one or more user IMSIs or a general directory listincluding one or more user IMSIs. Based on the comparing at 720, ifthere is not an IMSI entry matching the user's IMSI, FLE 25 may removethe potential target FAP from a list of potential target FAPs at 730.Otherwise, if there is an IMSI entry matching the user's IMSI, theoperations may continue (e.g., continue to selecting a particular targetFAP as shown at 470 of FIG. 4).

In regards to the internal structure associated with communicationsystem 10, each of FAPs 20, 21, 22, FGW 23, WAPs 30, 31, 32, WC 33, WLE34, AAA server 35, FLM 27 and femto-wireless AP 70 can include memoryelements for storing information to be used in achieving the hand-indisambiguation operations, as outlined herein. Additionally, each ofthese devices may include a processor that can execute software or analgorithm to perform the hand-in disambiguation activities as discussedin this Specification. These devices may further keep information in anysuitable memory element [random access memory (RAM), read only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), anelectrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), etc.], software,hardware, or in any other suitable component, device, element, or objectwhere appropriate and based on particular needs. Any of the memory itemsdiscussed herein should be construed as being encompassed within thebroad term ‘memory element.’ The information being tracked or sent toFAPs 20, 21, 22, FGW 23, WAPs 30, 31, 32, WC 33, WLE 34, AAA server 35,FLM 27 and femto-wireless AP 70 could be provided in any database,register, control list, cache, or storage structure: all of which can bereferenced at any suitable timeframe. Any such storage options may beincluded within the broad term ‘memory element’ as used herein in thisSpecification. Similarly, any of the potential processing elements,modules, and machines described in this Specification should beconstrued as being encompassed within the broad term ‘processor.’ Eachof the network elements and mobile nodes can also include suitableinterfaces for receiving, transmitting, and/or otherwise communicatingdata or information in a network environment.

Note that in certain example implementations, the hand-in disambiguationfunctions outlined herein may be implemented by logic encoded in one ormore tangible media, which may be inclusive of non-transitory media(e.g., embedded logic provided in an application specific integratedcircuit [ASIC], digital signal processor [DSP] instructions, software[potentially inclusive of object code and source code] to be executed bya processor, or other similar machine, etc.). In some of theseinstances, memory elements [as shown in FIGS. 1-3] can store data usedfor the operations described herein. This includes the memory elementsbeing able to store software, logic, code, or processor instructionsthat are executed to carry out the activities described in thisSpecification. A processor can execute any type of instructionsassociated with the data to achieve the operations detailed herein inthis Specification. In one example, the processors [as shown in FIGS.1-3] could transform an element or an article (e.g., data) from onestate or thing to another state or thing. In another example, thehand-in disambiguation activities outlined herein may be implementedwith fixed logic or programmable logic (e.g., software/computerinstructions executed by a processor) and the elements identified hereincould be some type of a programmable processor, programmable digitallogic (e.g., a field programmable gate array [FPGA], an EPROM, anEEPROM) or an ASIC that includes digital logic, software, code,electronic instructions, or any suitable combination thereof.

Note that with the examples provided above, as well as numerous otherexamples provided herein, interaction may be described in terms of two,three, or four network elements. However, this has been done forpurposes of clarity and example only. In certain cases, it may be easierto describe one or more of the functionalities of a given set of flowsby only referencing a limited number of network elements. It should beappreciated that communication system 10 (and its teachings) are readilyscalable and further can accommodate a large number of components, aswell as more complicated/sophisticated arrangements and configurations.Accordingly, the examples provided should not limit the scope or inhibitthe broad teachings of communication system 10 as potentially applied toa myriad of other architectures.

It is also important to note that the previously described activitiesillustrate only some of the possible signaling scenarios and patternsthat may be executed by, or within, communication system 10. Some ofthese steps may be deleted or removed where appropriate, or these stepsmay be modified or changed considerably without departing from the scopeof the present disclosure. In addition, a number of these operationshave been described as being executed concurrently with, or in parallelto, one or more additional operations. However, the timing of theseoperations may be altered considerably. The preceding operational flowshave been offered for purposes of example and discussion. Substantialflexibility is provided by communication system 10 in that any suitablearrangements, chronologies, configurations, and timing mechanisms may beprovided without departing from the teachings of the present disclosure.

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail withreference to particular arrangements and configurations, these exampleconfigurations and arrangements may be changed significantly withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. For example,although the present disclosure has been described with reference toparticular communication exchanges involving certain network access, andsignaling protocols, communication system 10 may be applicable to otherexchanges, routing protocols, or routed protocols in which in order toprovide hand-in access to a network. Moreover, although communicationsystem 10 has been illustrated with reference to particular elements andoperations that facilitate the communication process, these elements andoperations may be replaced by any suitable architecture or process thatachieves the intended functionality of communication system 10.

Numerous other changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, andmodifications may be ascertained to one skilled in the art and it isintended that the present disclosure encompass all such changes,substitutions, variations, alterations, and modifications as fallingwithin the scope of the appended claims. In order to assist the UnitedStates Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and, additionally, anyreaders of any patent issued on this application in interpreting theclaims appended hereto, Applicant wishes to note that the Applicant: (a)does not intend any of the appended claims to invoke paragraph six (6)of 35 U.S.C. section 112 as it exists on the date of the filing hereofunless the words “means for” or “step for” are specifically used in theparticular claims; and (b) does not intend, by any statement in thespecification, to limit this disclosure in any way that is not otherwisereflected in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for a communication network comprising:registering a user equipment (UE) within a WiFi system, wherein theregistering includes associating a Media Access Control (MAC) addressfor the UE with an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of auser associated with the UE; receiving a handover request for handingover the UE from a macro cell radio access network (RAN) to a small cellRAN; determining a location of the UE based, at least in part, oncommunications between the UE and one or more WiFi access points withinthe WiFi system; comparing a location for each of a plurality of smallcell access points within the small cell RAN to the location of the UE;and selecting a particular small cell access point to receive handoverof the UE based, at least in part, on the location of the UE and thelocation of the particular small cell access point.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the communications between the UE and the one or moreWiFi access points include one or more WiFi beacons being transmitted bythe UE that are intercepted by the one or more WiFi access points,wherein the one or more WiFi beacons comprise the MAC address of the UE.3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: identifying the UE basedon the MAC address to determine the location of the UE.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the selecting is based, at least in part, on thelocation of the UE being closest to the location of the particular smallcell access point.
 5. The method of claim 4, further comprising:determining one or more candidate small cell access points near thelocation of the UE; comparing a channel configuration for each of theone or more candidate small cell access points near the location of theUE to a target channel configuration for the UE to determine one or morecandidate small cell access points having a channel configuration thatmatches the target channel configuration for the UE; and selecting theparticular small cell access point from the one or more candidate smallcell access points that has a location near the location of the UE andthat has a channel configuration that matches the target channelconfiguration for the UE.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the targetchannel configuration for the UE comprises a frequency channel numberand at least one of: a scrambling code; and a physical cell identifier.7. The method of claim 6, further comprising: filtering out from the oneor more candidate small cell access points any candidate small cellaccess point that is in a closed access mode that the UE is notauthorized to access.
 8. One or more non-transitory tangible mediaencoding logic that includes instructions for execution that whenexecuted by a processor, is operable to perform operations comprising:registering a user equipment (UE) within a WiFi system, wherein theregistering includes associating a Media Access Control (MAC) addressfor the UE with an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of auser associated with the UE; receiving a handover request for handingover the UE from a macro cell radio access network (RAN) to a small cellRAN; determining a location of the UE based, at least in part, oncommunications between the UE and one or more WiFi access points withinthe WiFi system; comparing a location for each of a plurality of smallcell access points within the small cell RAN to the location of the UE;and selecting a particular small cell access point to receive handoverof the UE based, at least in part, on the location of the UE and thelocation of the particular small cell access point.
 9. The media ofclaim 8, wherein the communications between the UE and the one or moreWiFi access points include one or more WiFi beacons being transmitted bythe UE that are intercepted by the one or more WiFi access points,wherein the one or more WiFi beacons comprise the MAC address of the UE.10. The media of claim 9, the operations further comprising: identifyingthe UE based on the MAC address to determine the location of the UE. 11.The media of claim 8, wherein the selecting is based, at least in part,on the location of the UE being closest to the location of theparticular small cell access point.
 12. The media of claim 11, theoperations further comprising: determining one or more candidate smallcell access points near the location of the UE; comparing a channelconfiguration for each of the one or more candidate small cell accesspoints near the location of the UE to a target channel configuration forthe UE to determine one or more candidate small cell access pointshaving a channel configuration that matches the target channelconfiguration for the UE; and selecting the particular small cell accesspoint from the one or more candidate small cell access points that has alocation near the location of the UE and that has a channelconfiguration that matches the target channel configuration for the UE.13. The media of claim 12, wherein the target channel configuration forthe UE comprises a frequency channel number and at least one of: ascrambling code; and a physical cell identifier.
 14. The media of claim13, the operations further comprising: filtering out from the one ormore candidate small cell access points any candidate small cell accesspoint that is in a closed access mode that the UE is not authorized toaccess.
 15. A communication system, comprising: a location engine; atleast one memory element for storing data; and at least one processorthat executes instructions associated with the data, wherein theprocessor and the memory element cooperate such that the communicationsystem is configured for: registering a user equipment (UE) within aWiFi system, wherein the registering includes associating a Media AccessControl (MAC) address for the UE with an International Mobile SubscriberIdentity (IMSI) of a user associated with the UE; receiving a handoverrequest by a small cell gateway for handing over the UE from a macrocell radio access network (RAN) to a small cell RAN; determining alocation of the UE based, at least in part, on communications betweenthe UE and one or more WiFi access points within the WiFi system;comparing, via the location engine, a location for each of a pluralityof small cell access points within the small cell RAN to the location ofthe UE; and selecting a particular small cell access point to receivehandover of the UE based, at least in part, on the location of the UEand the location of the particular small cell access point.
 16. Thecommunication system of claim 15, wherein the small cell gateway isfurther configured for: determining one or more candidate small cellaccess points near the location of the UE; comparing a channelconfiguration for each of the one or more candidate small cell accesspoints near the location of the UE to a target channel configuration forthe UE to determine one or more candidate small cell access pointshaving a channel configuration that matches the target channelconfiguration for the UE; and selecting the particular small cell accesspoint from the one or more candidate small cell access points that has alocation near the location of the UE and that has a channelconfiguration that matches the target channel configuration for the UE.17. The communication system of claim 16, wherein the target channelconfiguration for the UE comprises a frequency channel number and atleast one of: a scrambling code; and a physical cell identifier.